April 23, 2010

Associated General Contractors of America launch green plan

The Associated General Contractors of America has released a new green construction plan, aimed at making buildings and infrastructure more efficient and reducing greenhouse gas.

The plan identifies measures public officials, developers, and the construction community must take to lessen the impact of the built environment on the natural environment.

Measures in the plan include doubling existing energy efficiency tax credits for commercial buildings; passing the Building Star program, which invests $6 billion in improving the efficiency of commercial buildings this year; and speeding reviews and boosting local tax credits for green building projects.

The plan also calls for:

• Public building projects to incorporate state of the art environmental solutions
• The federal government to make “pragmatic investments” in research and technology.
• Transportation investments needed to improve capacity and reduce traffic.
• Faster approval for new sustainable forms of power generation, including nuclear, wind and geothermal power facilities.
• Contractors to recycle more building materials and cut waste while making it easier for construction firms and building owners to green their day-to-day operations.

-RCD Digital Media

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